Courtney Banghart - Women's Basketball Coach - Princeton University Athletics

Courtney Banghart

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
banghart@princeton.edu

Helping to guide Princeton to unprecedented heights, the 2015 Naismith National Coach of the Year, one of Fortune Magazine’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, Courtney Banghart just wrapped up her 12th season as head coach of the women’s basketball team. The winningest coach in program history, Banghart has amassed a 254-103 (0.711) overall record with a 137-31 (0.816) mark against Ivy League opponents.

Inheriting a program that had never played in the NCAA Tournament, Banghart has led the squad there in eight of the past 10 years, capturing seven Ivy titles in the process. That run has never been matched in Ivy League women’s history and has been done just once on the men’s side (Penn - 9-of-11 from 1970-80). She has helped Princeton to many program and conference firsts and bests, including: the best regular season record and longest win streak (men or women) at 30-0 in 2015, the highest NCAA tournament seed (#8), the Ivy league’s only at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the highest AP poll and coaches poll ranking (#13), and the first program in the Ivy League to be ranked nationally in the AP preseason poll.

In the 2018-19 campaign, the Tigers (22-10) secured the Ivy League regular season and tournament championships for the second straight year. Bella Alarie was honored as the Ivy Player of the Year for the second consecutive season while Carlie Littlefield was first team All-Ivy. Alarie became the second Tiger (Niveen Rasheed ‘13) to be named Ivy Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons and the fifth Tiger to be picked first-team All-Ivy three times.

During that season, the Tigers were one of the best in the country in free-throw percentage (seventh, 78.0), blocked shots (15th, 166) and blocked shots per game (16th, 5.2).

The 2017-18 season saw Princeton (24-6) take home the Ivy League crown and Ivy Tournament title, leading to Banghart being named the conference’s Coach of the Year. Bella Alarie earned Ivy Player of the Year and first-team All-Ivy while Leslie Robinson picked up first team honors.

During that Ivy championship run, the Tigers were one of the best in the country in scoring defense (13th, 55.1), blocked shots per game (29th, 4.9), scoring margin (29th, +12.5), field-goal percentage (30th, 36.8), rebounding margin (32nd, +6.6) and free-throw percentage (38th, 75.2).

In 2016-17, the Princeton Tigers reached the postseason for the eighth straight season as they received a bid to the WNIT. The team finished second in the Ivy League during the regular season and advanced to the Ivy League Tournament Championship Game. Alarie was honored as the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, All-Ivy League first team and Ivy League All-Tournament team. Robinson was named to the All-Ivy League second team and Ivy League All-Tournament team.

Alarie’s remarkable freshman campaign continued as she helped the USA Women’s Basketball U-19 2017 FIBA World Cup Team to a silver medal in July of 2017.

That same summer, Banghart has represented the United States as an assistant coach to the U-23 national team, which captured victory in the inaugural U24 Four Nations Tournament in Toyko Japan in August of 2017.

The 2015-16 Princeton women’s basketball team made Ivy League history as it became the first school in conference history to make the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid. The Tigers had three players named to the All-Ivy League teams in Michelle Miller (first team), Alex Wheatley (first team) and Annie Tarakchian (second team). Banghart’s squad ranked in the top 10 nationally in rebounding margin (third), defensive rebounds per game (fourth), rebounds per game (seventh) and scoring margin (seventh).

Princeton’s undefeated 30-0 regular season in 2014-15 was the best in Ivy League basketball history, men’s or women’s. Under Banghart’s guidance, the Tigers also achieved the highest-ever ranking for an Ivy program, climbing as high as No. 13 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. The Tigers would go on to finish with a program-best mark of 31-1. With an 80-70 first round victory over ninth-seeded Green Bay, Princeton became just the second Ivy program to record an NCAA win.

For her efforts, Banghart was named the Ivy League’s inaugural Coach of the Year.Named one of Fortune Magazine’s 50 Greatest Leaders, Banghart was also tabbed the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) National Coach of the Year and ECAC Coach of the Year.

Four different Tigers earned All-Ivy accolades in 2014-15, including three first-team selections (Blake Dietrick, Annie Tarakchian, Alex Wheatley). Of the four times that an Ivy program has placed three members on the first team, three of them have been by the Tigers. Princeton also saw three players receive first team laurels in 2010-11 (Devona Allgood, Addie Micir, Lauren Edwards) and 1977-78 (C.B. Tomasiewicz, Margaret Meier, Jackie Jackson).

For the sixth time in nine years, a Tiger also laid claim to the Ivy League Player of the Year award (Blake Dietrick – 2015, Niveen Rasheed – 2012, 2013, Addie Micir – 2011, Bella Alarie - 2018, 2019). Since her arrival in 2007-08, Banghart has aided in the development of Blake Dietrick and Niveen Rasheed, who were AP and WBCA honorable mention All-Americans, 20 first-team All-Ivy picks, nine second-team selections, two honorable mention recipients and two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (Lauren Edwards, 2011, Michelle Miller, 2015-16).

As a team, Princeton wrapped up its 2014-15 campaign ranked second in the nation in scoring margin (+23.2), three-point percentage (40.5), and field-goal percentage defense (34.2). Third in the country in field-goal percentage (49.1), the Tigers were sixth in rebounding margin (+11.2) and scoring defense (52.6), seventh in three-point defense (26.3), 12th in assists per game (16.9) and 19th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.18).

Jump-starting the Princeton renaissance, Banghart’s 2009-10 squad finished 26-3, punching the program’s first ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

As both a coach and a player, Banghart has made 12 trips to the NCAA Tournament and three trips to the postseason WNIT. The Ivy League has had 27 women’s basketball teams appear in the NCAA Tournament, meaning Banghart has been a part of 44 percent of the Ivy participants in the Big Dance. A four-year letterwinner and three-year starter at Dartmouth College, Banghart was a two-time first-team All-Ivy honoree and owns the Ivy League record with 273 career three-pointers. Knocking down a program-best 97 triples in 1999, she earned the Ed Seitz Award as the top three-point specialist in the nation.

Banghart is also on the Board of Directors for the Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association. The WBCA is committed to serving its members and helping to grow women’s basketball by providing educational programming, networking opportunities, information and news, legislative and rules updates, and acting as the collective voice of the membership to the NCAA and other governing bodies in the sport.

Earning a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience in 2000, Banghart worked at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va., where she served as the girls’ athletic director and the head coach of the girls’ basketball and tennis teams. Returning to her alma mater, she later earned a master’s degree in writing and leadership development in 2007, while spending four seasons as an assistant coach for the Big Green.

A native of Amherst, N.H., Banghart was inducted into the Dartmouth College Hall of Fame in 2004 before being inducted into New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

THE BANGHART BRIEF

Personal
Birthplace: Manchester, N.H.
Hometown: Amherst, N.H.

Education
College: Dartmouth College
Bachelors: Neuroscience, 2000
Masters: Writing and Leadership Development, 2007

Coaching Career
Head Coach: Princeton University (2007-present)
Assistant Coach: Dartmouth College (2003-07)

Awards
Naismith Coach of the Year: 2015
United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Coach of the Year: 2015
ECAC Coach of the Year: 2015
Ivy League Coach of the Year: 2015, 2018
Ivy League Championships (Head Coach): 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019
Ivy League Championships (Assistant Coach): 2005, 2006
Ivy League Championships (Player): 1999, 2000
NCAA Tournaments: 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019
New England Basketball Hall of Fame: 2006
Dartmouth College Hall of Fame: 2004
New Hampshire Hall of Fame: 2017
New Jersey Sports Writers Association Women's College Coach of the Year: 2010
USWBA Coach of the Year Watch List: 2012
College Sports Madness Preseason All-Mid Major Coach of the Year: 2012
College Sports Madness Preseason Ivy League Coach of the Year: 2012
First-Team All-Ivy League (Player): 1999, 2000
Ed Seitz Award (DI Best 3-Point Shooter): 1999

Coaching at Princeton

	Overall		Conference		Ivy
Season	Record	Pct.	Record	Pct.	Finish
2007-08	7-23	.233	4-10	.286	6th
2008-09	14-14	.500	9-5	.643	3rd
2009-10	26-3	.897	14-0	1.000	1st
2010-11	24-5	.828	13-1	.929	1st
2011-12	24-5	.828	14-0	1.000	1st
2012-13	22-7	.759	13-1	.929	1st
2013-14	21-9	.700	11-3	.786	2nd
2014-15	31-1	.969	14-0	1.000	1st
2015-16	23-6	.793	12-2	.782	2nd
2016-17	16-14	.533	9-5	.643	2nd
2017-18	24-6	.800	12-2	.857	1st
2018-19	22-10	.688	12-2	.857	1st
Total	254-103	.711	137-31	.816

Player Views

"Hardworking, passionate, enthusiastic, motivating, and compassionate are only a few of the words I could use to describe Coach Banghart. On paper, her success is evident — 2015 Naismith National Coach of the Year, one of Fortune Magazine’s 50 Greatest Leaders, 30-0 regular season record, highest ever ranking for an Ivy team at No. 13 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls, just to name a few — but it is Coach Banghart’s character that really makes her one of the best coaches in the nation. She is a leader in every sense of the word and because of that, she has made me a better player, but more importantly, a better person throughout my four years at Princeton. Coach Banghart takes it upon herself to develop and improve every player that comes through her program and makes sure they leave her with more confidence and with a better understanding of themselves. She creates a unique family-oriented and welcoming environment within the program that allows everybody to shine in their individual ways which naturally benefits the rest of the team. She is kind and caring and there was never a day during my four years at Princeton that I didn’t feel like Coach Banghart was doing all that she could to help my teammates and I succeed. Now that I am an alum, Coach Banghart is technically no longer my coach, but she still acts as a coach figure in the way she continues to mentor and motivate me. It just speaks to the lifelong relationships that she creates within her program. Whether it be between player and coach or player and player, the bonds formed within the Princeton women’s basketball program are inseparable and last forever. Playing for and growing close to Coach Banghart is something I will always cherish. In addition to leading my teammates and I to so much success over my four years, Coach Banghart has helped shape me into a strong, fearless, and motivated leader with the skills necessary to go confidently into my next phases of life. "
Tia Weledji '18

"Playing for Coach Banghart has been one of the highlights of my Princeton career. She took a team that had never been to an NCAA tournament and has accomplished in the past nine years what many only dream of. She is one of the most positive influences I’ve been around, and the growth I’ve shown here over the past four years is a direct result of her ability to bring out the best in each of her players. She’s incredibly invested in each player, understands what each of us is finest at, and pushes us in ways you didn’t know existed in order to bring that out. The enthusiasm and competitiveness she brings every single day drives us all; she’s a competitor with a “just win” mentality, yet she’s full of life, energy, and a keen understanding of the game. She challenges us daily and demands excellence, yet at the same time she’s a teacher and an optimist, always seeing the bright side to situations. Her love for her players and her desire to see us succeed expands off the court, as she is and always will be one of our biggest supporters in anything we want to do. She will continue to be one of the most valuable mentors in my life, and I will be forever grateful to be able to call her my coach and forever thankful that she surrounded me with such incredible teammates and coaches that have shaped me into the person I am today." - Amanda Berntsen '16

"Coach Banghart is an inspiration. Her enthusiasm, fearlessness, and passion for the game is obvious to everyone around her. If a team plays to the personality of its leaders, this team is tenacious, competitive, supportive, smart, and always hungry for the best. Her teams do "impossible" things (a 30-0 season, the first at-large bid for an Ivy) because she has established a culture of excellence here. Four years under Coach Banghart's tutelage have made me a stronger, smarter, tougher, more skilled player; a better listener, communicator, and leader; and a wiser mentor, friend, and teammate to those around me. She is truly outstanding. And best of all, I'm confident that my relationship with Coach will continue long after I graduate: I will always be a part of this Tiger family she has created." - Alex Wheatley '16

"I have been so blessed to have Coach Banghart as my mentor and friend these past four years. Everything she does has our best interest in mind, always. She not only has dedicated herself to make me and my teammates the best versions of ourselves on the court, but takes the time to ensure we are our best off the court. She has created a culture of excellence, hard work and support that puts all of her players in a position to succeed. She pours her heart into what she does and brings her everything she has to each practice, meeting, game, you name it. The time, energy and enthusiasm she puts forward daily drives us to also give our all and push one another to greater heights. She is what makes this team strong and I will be forever grateful to her and this program for making my four years at Princeton so victorious and so special." - Annie Tarakchian '16

Personal

1. What’s your favorite book: Anything non-fiction
2. What’s your favorite holiday and why: Thanksgiving. There’s something right about a day of thanks nationwide.
3. What was a fad you were involved in during high school that many would be surprised to learn: I’m always the last one to find out about fads.
4. How do you spend your free time: Traveling.
5. If you could be on any reality show, what would it be and why: Amazing Race with my brother - we’d win.
6. What’s your go-to junk food: Chocolate peanut butter ice cream.
7. What are your pregame rituals: Blow a kiss to the sky at the end of the National Anthem, for all those that have changed my life and watch over me.
8. What’s your most memorable experience as a head coach: Anytime I see my team. I know how lucky I am.
9. What was the best coaching advice you ever received: “Success is peace of mind that your players are getting the best of what you have, always.” That and, “Leaders can aim to be uniformly liked- but in doing so, they will be respected by few. A good coach hopes the basketball experience has made his/her players better on and off the court, no matter how hard the journey.”
10. What’s your favorite road trip of the season and why: Any one where we win two games.